Sports often define the grit and character necessary for fierce competition. In this environment the games allowed units to grow together and display esprit de corps. The Commander’s Cup was planned to increase the morale of the units stationed on Fort Hood, encourage Soldiers to further refine their skills, and celebrate the heritage of III Corps.

“It’s important to connect to your legacy, to understand what excellence means on the sports fields, class rooms and in the field of battle and in our competitions,” Funk stated.

Throughout the Commander’s Cup, fierce competitions took place around Fort Hood. The events included basketball, flag football,soft ball, bowling, inner tube water polo, bike race and weightlifting. Each event helped focus on a particular set of Soldiers’ skills and competitive spirit. At each day’s end, results were tallied, by a board of judges based off win-loss ratio, compiling outcomes and point totals to determine the overall champion.

In the end, the 36th Engineer Brigade were the overall winners of the Commander’s Cup, winning three of the seven events. Teams from across the 36th “Stay Rugged” Brigade came first in softball, flag football, and bowling. They also came in 2nd place in water polo and the bike race as well.

“The team needs no encouragement, they’ve proven over the course of the competition that they’re up for the challenge,” said Col. Jim Koeppen, the commander of the 36th Engineer Brigade. “The Soldiers of the ‘stay rugged’ brigade know there’s no trophy for second place, they’re rugged, they’re ready and they were up for this challenge.”